RE: Porsche 917 tribute marks racer's 50th birthday

RE: Porsche 917 tribute marks racer's 50th birthday

Monday 11th March 2019

Porsche 917 tribute marks racer's 50th birthday

It's been half a century since Porsche's iconic flat twelve 917 first took to the track



The racing car that first earned Porsche a win at Le Mans is 50 years old, so to mark the occasion Porsche has produced a special one-off 917 tribute. Called the, um, 917, it’s a modern interpretation of the original flat twelve racer’s gorgeous design that comes wrapped in a livery inspired by the 1970 and 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans winner.

Before we get our hopes up, the car is not set to become Porsche’s next prototype racer for a surprise return to Le Mans. Instead, the tribute is destined to be a show car at the Porsche Museum for its ’50 Years of the 917’ exhibition. That means there’s no modern remake of the original’s 520hp Type 912 engine, itself made from the mating of two flat six engines, beneath the bodywork. Let’s just be thankful it’s not an EV.


Still, it looks the part, mixing the original’s lines with a 21st century finish. And it’s not like we don’t have enough examples of the 917 to remind us what the 240mph-capable legend is famous for. In fact, 10 will join the tribute car at the Porsche Museum.

Among its many achievements, the two consecutive victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 24 Hours stand out, although the 917 was evolved into various guises that each had their own successes. This list includes the bonkers 917/13, a turbocharged, topless 1,100hp Can-Am racer that embarrassed the competition in 1973. An icon of motorsport in the truest form.

Author
Discussion

Schermerhorn

Original Poster:

4,342 posts

189 months

Monday 11th March 2019
quotequote all
Oh please let their 918 successor look just like that.

That looks so epic

  • drool*

PantsFire

519 posts

80 months

Monday 11th March 2019
quotequote all
I give it a month before they say "We're making 17... they cost $xm each... they were all sold before we thought up the idea"

Pericoloso

44,044 posts

163 months

Monday 11th March 2019
quotequote all
Looks like I need to visit Stuttgart again for the exhibition.

That'll be 5 times.


Big Robbo

319 posts

146 months

Monday 11th March 2019
quotequote all
Exclusive stuff mere mortals can't afford seems to be how car companies do business these days so you couldn't blame them if they did make a few of them. You can only hope someone somewhere inside Porsche is doodling away at something in their lunch break

DaveJH

138 posts

231 months

Monday 11th March 2019
quotequote all
The Can-Am car was the 917/30, not 917/13 as stated in the article

Sine Metu

302 posts

126 months

Monday 11th March 2019
quotequote all
In an era of dozens of cut and paste hypercars, it's been a long time since I've seen something that really made the blood flow again.

Gecko1978

9,683 posts

157 months

Monday 11th March 2019
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love the front wheel arches bulging my school note book 1995 was covered in that sort of thing

Steve Rance

5,446 posts

231 months

Monday 11th March 2019
quotequote all
My favourite car of all time. Lovely homage

Robert-nszl1

401 posts

88 months

Monday 11th March 2019
quotequote all
No wings, no ugly air intakes....just beautiful

ZX10R NIN

27,577 posts

125 months

Monday 11th March 2019
quotequote all
That looks bhin.

Gary C

12,411 posts

179 months

Monday 11th March 2019
quotequote all
I love the fact that the alloy tube frame was pressurised with a gauge in the cockpit, if it cracked, the indicated pressure would drop to let the driver know they had a problem !

That and the drive was taken from the middle of the crankshaft to reduce the effective length down to two flat 6's connected together and stop it oscillating down its length.

Edited by Gary C on Monday 11th March 22:13

Turbobanana

6,258 posts

201 months

Monday 11th March 2019
quotequote all
Can't decide if I like it or not, bearing in mind it's an homage to my favourite car of all time.

What the heck, it's a yes from me.

Gary C

12,411 posts

179 months

Monday 11th March 2019
quotequote all
Robert-nszl1 said:
No wings, no ugly air intakes....just beautiful
Must be said, the original body of the 917 did have a wing.

ntiz

2,337 posts

136 months

Monday 11th March 2019
quotequote all
For the love of god put the GT2 RS engine in this sell it for 200k. Show Ferrari and Mclaren how it’s done. I would order today!!!

I’m actually a Ferrari fan but this looks sensational.

Robert-nszl1

401 posts

88 months

Monday 11th March 2019
quotequote all
Gary C said:
Robert-nszl1 said:
No wings, no ugly air intakes....just beautiful
Must be said, the original body of the 917 did have a wing.
More a flirtatious lip on the back I'd say....

Pericoloso

44,044 posts

163 months

Monday 11th March 2019
quotequote all
This version has a wing.




Robert-nszl1

401 posts

88 months

Monday 11th March 2019
quotequote all
Pericoloso said:
This version has a wing.



Yes, but that's not the cool one! smile

Dapster

6,914 posts

180 months

Tuesday 12th March 2019
quotequote all
If you already have an original 917, and a 917 tribute on order, you'd probably want one of these ($75,000!!!)...



https://slotmods.com/pages/porsche-917-le-mans

https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/classic-l...

Edited by Dapster on Tuesday 12th March 00:17

anonymous-user

54 months

Tuesday 12th March 2019
quotequote all
Take my money! One off my as5!

MX6

5,983 posts

213 months

Tuesday 12th March 2019
quotequote all
Looks great, I like the fact that it's a super clean shape with no nonsence.

Porsche need to get into the £zillion oligarch/oil sultan hypercar game, everyone else is doing it now.